Building in the Dark

It’s easy to do your best when the Teacher, Parent or Sensei is watching. It's also easy to do your best in the game setting when all eyes are on you and your team, but building in the dark requires a special type of discipline that will make even a great student that much better. The instructors at First Choice Martial Arts love to see when a student takes this approach and comes back to the dojo better than before.

A few weeks back we had Black Belt testing and part of the exam requirements was to perform various exercises on each student's own. When these students were awarded, their Black Belts at the end of the exam it was obvious that these students were Black Belts well before the exam had even begun. You can't pull off a final exam like that whether it be a karate, school, job interview or an important event without preparation.

The work that goes into final preparation isn't often witnessed by the spectators. Only that individual knows how hard they prepared and what they did with their time leading up to that important event. Many of these kids, some at just the young age of 10 years old, had written training logs to track their progress. Talk about discipline and motivation as these students were tracking their journeys and recording history leading up to this important milestone.

These are skills that they've acquired from their great upbringings as well as a discipline that they've acquired along the way. This is going to have a huge impact, not only at the Dojo, for their success but it will also inspire a future generation of new Black Belts as their drive becomes contagious. Furthermore, the impact on their future self is going to be big in a profound way.

Building in the dark isn't as glamorous as being in the spotlight, but it is the one important element that any successful person must have in their life to succeed. We as instructors recognize the effort that our students put forth not just in the Dojo but in those personal moments and hope that you can continue to impact those around you in such a positive way.

Continue to track your journeys and remember, champions are made when no one is watching!

Sensei Chris